Can you withdrawl from Prednisone--only took it for 5 days?

   I took 60 mg/day for 5 days (b/c of neck/shoulder/right arm pain)---today is the first day without it.

I feel kind of....in pain---like, my skin hurts where my triceps, shoulder (and blades) and neck are!  It's really weird!  I have never felt anything like this!

Just wondering....can this be from the prednisone?  Or is it probably something else (like fibro--even though I haven't been diagnosed with it)?  OY!

TIA!

Laurel

I don't know if your exact symptoms are related to pred but this is not a med to mess around with stopping it suddenly can cause secondary adrenal insufficiency which can make you sicker than you have ever been in your life. If you take it for more than just a few days you have to titrate off of it very slowly.

thanks Gramps! I appreciate it! :)
Laurel

I just titrated down from 60 mgs per day, and it took months. I took 60mgs for 2 weeks, then 50mgs for 2 weeks, and so on until done. I've taken the same dosage for 5 days, stopped, and had no problems. Longer courses of prednisone require that you titrate to avoid dangerous side effects such as an unhealthy drop in blood pressure. Your body will never feel better then when you take prednisone, and will never feel worse then when you stop taking it. All the inflammation in the joints returns with a vengeance, which is probably what you are experiencing. It does not have the same withdrawal effects as opioids, accept for increased pain, and all that comes with that. 60mgs of prednisone seems like a very high dose for a short course for nothing more than relieving inflammation. It doesn't cure joint pain, it only relieves it while you take it. It is most often used for issues involving the lungs, and for people suffering with Crohn's, Colitis, etc. When I've taken it for 5 day courses it was for pneumonia, Asthma, etc. Prednisone is really a wolf in sheep's clothing, and nothing to play around with. My doctors speculate that all the steroids I've taken throughout my life might be one reason that my spine is falling apart. Just as with anabolic steroids, Prednisone, in high enough doses and duration, can degrade joint tissue. It sure makes you feel good when you take it, but it isn't worth it in the long run.

no yuo cant get with drawels just weight gain . lol

Hi Wayne:
Did you realize that you are responding to a post with a scribed date of 2008?

I hope that you are seeing a new doctor to assist you in a corticosteroid taper. Your prescribed prednisone of 60 mg x 15 days, 20 mg x 2 days and 10 mg x 6 days is a troubling prescription that could leave you with suppression of the pituitary and adrenal gland axis - secondary adrenal insufficiency.

Symptoms of suppressed pituitary/adrenal gland response include: flu-like symptoms and general malaise; generalized muscle and joint pain, fairly severe; low blood pressure, dizziness; brain fog and difficulties with concentration and attention to task; nausea, vomiting, and low appetite; headache; sensitivity to bright lights and sounds. It can feel like a worst case of the flu.

Any dosing of 30 mg of prednisone (and higher) over a period of 2 weeks (and longer) is suspect to secondary adrenal insufficiency.

Secondary AI is not a condition that corrects on its own. I would encourage you to see a physician that you know and trust to review this recent prescription of prednisone and its dosing. A slow and gradual taper from corticosteroids is necessary in order to prevent pituitary gland suppression and to "reboot" the adrenal glands in their role in producing cortisol.

Welcome to this forum and to its support and care. Let us know how we can help you.
- Karen -